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Amityville associate principal files racial discrimination suit

| Jul 17, 2015 | Workplace Discrimination |

 

As racial issues continue to stay on the forefront of the daily news cycle, we are unfortunately learning of another possible racial discrimination case, this time in Long Island. Since his hiring in 2014, a black associate principal at Amityville High school has felt he was, “set up for failure and given no support” during his employment at the school.

The associate principal alleges that he spent two months worth of days in the school kitchen away from fellow staff and was not able to pursue multiple initiatives. This included actions such as a discussion of the riots and racial issues in Ferguson, Missouri.

He believes that his presence was viewed as a threat to others and that school leadership purposely blocked him. It may be worthy to note that the school’s students are predominately black while the school administrators are white. He believes that the school board made their decisions to restrict his progress in the school based on his race.

In response to these claims, the Amityville superintendent stated, “the district intends to vigorously defend against this claim. The Amityville district is committed to providing a professional work environment for all staff and does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.” The Division of Human Rights will investigate the claims against the New York Department of Education, and a lawsuit against the district is possible on the grounds of racial discrimination.

In the United States, all workers are protected against discrimination on the grounds of race, age, sex and religious beliefs. Many states also have protections against ones’ sexual orientation as well. If you feel you’ve been discriminated on any of those grounds, it is important that you address it without hesitation. In addition to retaining your job, you may be entitled to compensation.

Source: , By Greg Cergol, 4 New York, “Ex-Associate Principal at Long Island School Sues, Claims Racial Discrimination,” Accessed July 14, 2015.